Thursday, February 20, 2014

BLOG TOUR STOP: Tragic Desires by A.M. Hargrove

My name is Gemini Sheridan. At least
that’s what I thought it was for 23 years. Then one day a slight adjustment on
the wheel of my mountain bike set into motion a series of catastrophic events
that changed my life forever. Now I’m running from the headaches that threaten
to destroy me… from the assassins that threaten to kill me… from the truth that
exposes who I really am… and from the man that wants to save me. Because he now
owns my heart and I fear him above all others.

My name is Drexel Wolfe and I’m a private
investigator. Nothing ever stands in the way of what I want because when I see
something I just take it. All of that changed the night my life collided with
Gemini Sheridan’s and now everything is one hot damn mess. And the worst part
of it all is that I’m trying to save her ass and I don’t know why the hell I’m
even bothering. Well, that’s not exactly true. Fact is, I can’t stop thinking
about her. She’s crawled into every thought I own, asleep or awake. I have
serious plans for her that include making her mine. What she doesn’t know is
that when I play, I play for keeps. Nothing and no one will get in my way or
stop me… not even Gemini Sheridan herself.

Excerpt

He leaves and I think about everything.
And then my mom’s words crash into me again. I don’t know him from the man on
the moon. For all I know, he could be the terrorist, acting like the
agent. I haven’t seen this team leader or anyone else. And he expects me to
trust him. The only thing I trust right now are my mom’s words and myself. I
decide it’s time for Gemini to skedaddle.

I quickly search for my apartment key
and find it on the bathroom counter, along with my medicine. I grab them and
anything else I think will help. I spy my wallet with credit cards and ID, my
cell phone, and a bit of cash. I snag those too. Then I bust through the door
and hit the hall at the closest I can get to a sprint.

The elevator isn’t my best option, so I
head for the stairs and trip down them as fast as my Lortab-addled legs will
carry me. My chest burns as my heart pounds. It’s obvious my lack of exercise
coupled with my excessive reliance on drugs these last few months have taken
their toll.

At last the end is in sight. When I
shove the first floor door open, I run right into the concrete wall of Drexel.

“Going somewhere?”

My lungs are in such need of oxygen, I
can’t answer. And this is from running down the stairs. So what does the
bastard do? He spins me around and marches me right back up all those damn
steps. After about three flights, he gives up and throws me over his shoulder
like a sack of potatoes. He must be in damn great shape because he runs the
remaining stairs in twos. I’m breathing hard just watching.

We get back to his room and he slings
me across the bed. He’s pissed. He paces in front of the bed, fists clenched,
and it’s like he’s at war with himself.

His breathing slows. That’s when he
rips into me.

“What the fuck are you doing? I’m
risking my ass, trying to save yours, and you take off on me? What the
hell do you call that? Huh? Tell me something, Gemini, because I’m about to
blow a damn gasket here.”

My eyes dart between him and the door
and he sees it. “Oh, so that’s how it is? Do you even know what those
motherfuckers will do to you if they catch you? Do you even know how they will
torture you to get answers? Answers you claim not to have? At least if you had
some, they’d get what they wanted and would shoot you. But not this way.
They’ll keep you alive, just to try again and again. You say you wanna die?
Believe me, this is not the way to go. And trust me on this. I’ve experienced
it firsthand, Gemini. It’s beyond your worst nightmare.”

“How do I know I can trust you?” My
body shakes with fear.

He
laughs and it’s ugly sounding. “The way I see it, you don’t have a goddamn
choice.”

One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager, A. M. Hargrove,
realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn't do something soon, it
would quickly be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming
of her whole life. So, she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous
(not) company car and tossed out her leather briefcase. Luckily, the
pedestrian in the direct line of fire was a dodge ball pro and had über quick
reflexes enabling him to avoid getting bashed in the head. Feeling a tad
guilty about the near miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side
street before tossing her crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what laptop out
the window. She breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell
phone, called her boss and quit her job. Grinning, she made another call
to her hubs and told him of her new adventure (after making sure his heart was
beating properly again).

So began A. M. Hargrove's career as a YA/NA and Adult Romance writer.
Her books include the following: Edge of Disaster, Shattered Edge and Kissing
Fire (The Edge Series); The Guardians of Vesturon series (Survival,
Resurrection, Determinant, reEmergent and Beginnings); Dark Waltz and
Tragically Flawed.

Other than being in love with writing about being in love, she loves
chocolate, ice cream and coffee and is positive they should be added as part of
the USDA food groups.